Ariana Sañudo

Ariana Sañudo is an associate attorney in Gibson Dunn's Los Angeles office and a full-time member of the Firm's Pro Bono Practice, which manages and coordinates the Firm’s pro bono portfolio around the world.  She works with groups and individuals inside and outside the Firm to increase access to legal representation, identify and rectify injustices, and connect attorneys to causes and cases they care about.  Ariana is proud to have contributed to the growth of the firm’s pro bono work since joining the practice in 2023. 

Her own practice focuses primarily on civil rights impact litigation cases, often at the intersection with immigration issues.  She regularly litigates in federal district and appellate courts challenging policies that affect noncitizens nationwide, with a particular emphasis on noncitizen children and survivors of domestic and sexual violence.  She is also a leader in the Firm’s Immigration Task Force, and consults on individual immigration matters across the Firm. 

She was a key member of the Jones v. City of Los Angeles trial team, which in 2023 secured an historic unanimous federal jury verdict for a peaceful protestor wounded by a Los Angeles Police Department officer.  Ariana also represents individual immigration clients in asylum, Special Immigrant Juvenile Status, and humanitarian parole proceedings, and represents incarcerated individuals in resentencing and other collateral challenges, especially those sentenced as juveniles.

Ariana regularly speaks on panels and trainings related to humanitarian immigration law developments and access to justice issues generally, and is passionate about empowering attorneys within and beyond the Firm to use their skills to increase access to justice in their communities and around the world.

Prior to joining the Pro Bono team, her practice focused on complex commercial litigation, including defending some of the nation’s largest companies in precedent-setting class and representative actions.

Ariana earned her law degree from the University of Southern California, Gould School of Law.  In her third year of law school, she received the Edward and Eleanor Shattuck Award, given to graduating students who have demonstrated the greatest potential for becoming outstanding members of the Bar.  She also holds Bachelor of Arts degrees in Political Science and English from Boston College.

Ariana is a member of the State Bar of California and is admitted to practice before the U.S. District Courts for the Central, Northern, and Southern Districts of California, as well as the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.

Capabilities

• Class Actions
• Trials

Credentials

Education:

• University of Southern California - 2018 Juris Doctor
• Boston College - 2014 Bachelor of Arts

Admissions:

• California Bar